Machine for handling milk cans



Oct. 27, 1925 W. N. MERWIN MACHINE FOR HANDLING MILK CANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 VIZ/10%? Filed March 5, 1924 ww gwvcntoz W. N. MERWIN MACHINE FOR HANDLING MILK CANS 5 Shae Filed March 5, 1924 W. N. MERWIN MACHINE FOR HANDLING MILK cAN's Filed March 3, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jwuantoz Oct. 27,1925- W. N. MERWIN MACHINE FOR HANDLING MILK CANS Filed March :5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I smut rmowiwiz Oct. 27, 1925'- W. N. MERWIN MACHINE FOR HANDLING MILK cums Filed March 5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 avwziz,

Patented Get. 2?,

UNITED STATES 1,558,700 PATENT omen.

WILLIAM LT. MERWIN, OF WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE M. 86 R. MFG. (10.,

W'AUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR HANDLING MIL cans.

Application filed March 3, 1924. seri a l No. 696,607.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. Mnnwin, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vaukegan, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Machine for Handling Milk Cans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for handling milk cans and is designed, primarily, for receiving cans and covers from can washing machines, mechanism being employed for bringing together the can and its cover so as to close the can and subsequently deliver the closed can from the machine.

A further object is to provide mechanism for assembling the can and its cover while the can is in an inverted position immediately following the washing operation, means being employed for subsequently righting the cans without dislodging the covers therefrom.

Heretofore it has been the practice to place the covers on washed cans by hand but where cans are washed and delivered at a high speed, this operation of placing the covers in position has been quite expensive because of the labor required.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for automatically receiving the cans from the washing machine, assembling the covers and the cans, and then delivering the cans with the covers thereon.

Tith the foregoing and other objectsin view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides-in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings 1 Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof.

' 3 is a plan view.

'. at is a side elevation.

'. 5 is a section on line 5-5, Fig. 1.

' e is a side elevation of one of the used for pushing a can cover into st on' relative to a can, the shaft proper on which the lever isjmounted being shown in section.

Figure 7 is a side elevationof the movable tableand its depending slotted plate, adjacent parts being also shown.

Figure 8 is a vertical section through the slotted plate and a portionof the fixed table, the guide for the slotted plate being shown in elevation, V i

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the frame of the maformed between the apertured wall 2 and another wall 7 parallel therewith.

Parallel ledges 8 extend toward each other between the front portions of wall 7 and the adjacent wall 2 and cooperate to form a portion of the bottom of the guide-way 6. The space between these ledges is normally closed by a tiltable plate 9 resting at its front end upon the front portion of frame 1 and supported at its rear end by a pivot pin lO. The rear ends of the ledges 8 and the plate ,9 are normally flush and upstanding from the rear edge of plate 9 is a recessed flange 11 constituting a rest or stop as will be hereinafter explained.

An car 12 is extended downwardly from the: plate 9 and is pivotally connected to a rod 13 the lower end of which is engaged by a crank arm 14 (Fig. 1.) located atone end of a shaft 15. A spring 16 engages the lower end of the. rod 13 and is attached to the frame 1, thereby to hold the plate 9 nor mally flush with the ledges 8. l i

Mounted between the walls 2 andwithin the upstanding frame 3 is a rotary conveyor 17 including a normally vertical plate 18 provided at its ends with can supporting led es 19. I These ledges are extended in opposite directions respectively and each of them is sufliciently large to support a can. A trunnion 2O isextended from-one side of the center of plate 18 and is journaled in suitable bearings 21 provided therefor on the frame 3. To this trunnion is secured a gear 22 adapted to be intermittently engaged by a segmental gear 23 secured to a shaft 24: journaled in suitable bearings 25 on the frame 1. Another segmental gear 26 is secured to the shaft 24; and fastened to said shaft between the gears 23 and 26 is a beveled pinion 27 adapted to receive motion through a pinion 23 from a drive shaft 29. This shaft 29 may be coupled to the washing machine with which the present machine is to be associated so that the two machines can operate synchronously.

Extending from the other side of the conveyor plate 18 at the center thereof is a shaft 30 adapted to rotate with the con veyor. To this shaft is secured a ratchet wheel 31 and a spring controlled pawl 32 normally engages the same so as to hold the shaft against retrograde movement. Cams 33 and 3tare also secured to shaft 30 so as to rotate therewith. Cam 33 is located under a lever 35 pivotally connected to a standard 36 on which shaft 30 is journaled. A link 37 is pivotally and slidably engaged by the free end portion of lever and is pivotally connected to a crank arm 38 located at one end of the shaft 15. Cam -33 is double so that twice during each complete rotation of the cam the lever 35 will be raised and dropped thereby produc ing a corresponding movement of the crank arm 38 and the parts operative'ly connected thereto. Spring -16 serves to hold these parts normally intheir lowermost position.

Fixedly mounted in the frame 1 below and back of the ledges 8 is a table39 having parallel transversely extending slots f0 opening through theinner side of the table whichis preferably in substantially vertical alinement withthe apertured wall 2 Slidable on the rear portionof this fixed table 39 is a plate 41' (see Fig. 5) slotted longi tudinally as at &2 so as to engage a guide 43 extending from the frame 3. See Figs. 7 and 8. Extending forwardly from the inner endportion of the plate 4:1 is a movable table'ttabove the plane of and in a plane substantially parallel with the fixed table 39.

, I The outer endof the plate 411 is pivotally and slidably engaged by a lever 45 pivotally mounted at its lower end on an extension bracket 4-6. The rod 47 constitutingthe pivotof this lever is mounted to rotate with the lever and has an arm 48 extending at right angles therefrom and carrying a weight 49. A slide bar 50 is mounted for transverse movement within themain frame 1 and is connectedto lever 45 by a link 51. This-bar has a notch 52 therein.

Extending from front to rear of the machine and journaled in the main frame 1 is a shaft 53 to which is secured a collar 54. Pivotally mounted on opposite sides of this collar are the crooked lower ends 55 of shifting levers 56, there being springs 57 connected to the levers and to the collar for holding the crooked portions of the levers normally pressed yieldingly against the shaft 53. Levers 56 project upwardly through the slots 40 and are normally positioned in the closed outer end portions of the slots as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A crank arm 57 extends from and rotates withthe shaft 53 and has a pawl 58 pivotally mounted on it. A releasing plunger 59 is slidably mounted in the frame 1 above the pawl and is yieldingly supported by a spring 60. The upper end of this plunger is located under and in the path of the cam 3 1. This cam is double so that during each complete rotation of the shaft30 the plunger 59 will be thrust downwardly twice, spring 60 serving to return the plunger to its normal or raised position after each downward thrust thereof.

The front end of shaft 53 has a beveled pinion 61 meshing with a beveled pinion 62 secured to one end of a transverse shaft 63. This shaft is located in the front portion of the frame 1 and is provided with a forwardly and upwardly inclined arm 64 on which a weight 65 is adjustably mounted. A crank arm 66 is extended from the shaft 63 and isconnected by a pitman 67 to a crank arm 68 extending from a shaft 69 ,journaled in the rear portion of the frame 1. A gear 70 is secured to shaft 69 and is adapted to be intermittently engaged by the segmental gear 26.

Pivotally connected to the front portion of the main frame 1 at the front end of the guide-way 5 are supporting fingers 71. The pivoted or hinged ends of these fingers are shown at 72 and when the fingers are in normal position they extend horizontally toward the movable table 4 1 which is normally positionedinthe space between the lower edges of the walls 2 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. With the parts thus located the pawl 58 is extended into the notch 52 and the rotary conveyor 17 is positioned with its plate 1.8- vertical and with the lower ledge 19 extending forwardly under the movable table 1 1.

The type of washing machine with which this apparatus is to be used is adapted to deliver cans in inverted position one at a time and at the same time is adapted to delive-r thecan tops one at a time with their heads or tops uppermost. The first can of a series being delivered from a washing ma chine will pass from said machine onto the fingers '71 and at the same time the first can top of a series being delivered will pass onto the plate 9. The: mechanism is so timed relative to the operation, of tl erwashing machine that as a can and its topare delivered to the position described the fol lowing operations will take place:

Assuming that a can cover is resting in an inverted position upon the fixed table 39, the actuation of gears '28 and 27 will cause segmental gear 26 to rotate gear 70 and shaft (59 with the result that shafts (3 will be rocked. Thus the arm or lever 64 will be swung into a slot 73 in the front of frame 1 and will travel between the supporting lingers 71 so as to thrust against the can resting thereon and supporting it ontothe movable table While this operation is taking place the shaft is being rota-ted so as to swing the arms or levers 56 laterally away from the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so that the inverted can top resting on the fixed table 39 will be thrust through the opening 4: onto the ledge 19 under the lixed table 4 1. This rotation of shaft 53 for the purpose of shifting the can top or cover also results in the movement of pawl 58 to the left in Fig. 2 until it is in position to drop into the notch 52. Consequently as shaft 69 completes its rotation the rock shaft (33 will be thrust back to its initial position by the crank arm 66, links 67 and arm 68, this movement being accelerated by the weight ($5. This will cause areversal of the movement of shaft 58 with the result that arms 56 will swing back to their initial or normal position and the pawl will thrust against bar 50 so as to push lever 45 laterally. T his will cause the slide ll to move laterally so as to withdraw the movable table 14 from above the ledge 19. Continued rotation of shafts 29 and gear 28 will cause the segmental gear to engage and rotate gear 22, the segmental gear .26 at this time being out of mesh with gear 70. As the movable table t l is pulled laterally by the slide 41, it will pass "from under the inverted can resting thereon and said can will drop onto the inverted cover supported thereunder. Immediately subsequent to this action the conveyor 1? begins to rotate and the'lower ledge 19 on which the inverted can is mounted will swing upwardly and backwardly. As the conveyor is thus rotated the ratchet wheel 31 moves past the pawls 32, said pawlsserving to hold it against retrograde movement. After the can has been lifted asutlioient distance to leave the path of other cans that might be fed to the machine the pawl 34 comes against and depresses the plunger 59. The lower end of the plunger strikes the pawl 58 and disengages it from the slide bar 50. Consequently this bar will be imme' diately shifted back to its normal position by the weight 49 and at the same time slide -11 will be returned to its normalposition. This'will bring the table in place below the guide-way 5. Immediately following this movement of the table \lItl: thecan apparent by referring to Fig. 5.

comes against and lifts lever 35 with the result that the link or connection 37 will pull on bellerank 3S and cause the other bell crank 1-1: to thrust upwardly through rod 13 against plate 9. Prior to this action a can cover has been deposited right side up upon the plate 9 and a can has been deposited on the lingers 71. Obviously when. the plate 9 is tilted the cover resting thereon will be dumped onto the fixed table 39 where it will rest upside down in the path ofthe lingers 50. From this point on the operation is repeated as before described, the next step being the thrusting of the can onto the movable table M, the shifting of .the can cover to position under the movable table, retraction of the movable table from under the can so as to deposit the can on the cover, and the subsequent actuation of the .conveyor. v, i i

It will be apparent that one can is ,conveyed through the machine during each onehalil revolution of theconveyor and each time one-half revolution has ben completed a canwith the cover in position thereon is brouglit to upstanding position at the delivery or back end of the machine w iere it may be directed onto a conveyor, not shown, and conducted to any desired point. 1

Obviously a machine such as described can handle cans at a very high speed, placing the covers properly in position thereon and doting" away with the services of two or more attendants such as heretofore required.

By providing the pivoted supporting lingers 71 said lingers are free to swing upwardly out of the path of the lower ledge 19 i of the conveyor each time said conveyor is rotated. The lingers will gravitate backto their normal positions thereafter and be properly located to receive another can. The various gears are soconstructed and proportioned as to insure operation of the parts in properly timed relation.

I Extending from the plate 18 are supporting ears '54- formed by the ends of strips fastened to the outer'faces of the ledges 19. iThBSQPIlOJGCtDlg ears Serve to extend under a cam or other container when brought to upstanding or delivering position as will be In other words as the cam is brought toward its vertical position at the back of the machine the edge of the bottom thereof will rest, on the lower ear 7 1- while the remaining projecting portion of the bottom will come onto a conveyor belt or the like (not shown) employed for conducting the cans away from the machine. i

What is claimed is 2- y 1. The combination with a, movable table for supporting an inverted can and afixed table for supporting an inverted cover, of separate means for successively positioning till the inverted cover beneath the can and withdrawing the movable table from under the can, and rotatable means for overturning the container and its cover to a position away from the table and with the cover uppermost 2. The combination with a movable table for supporting an inverted container and a fixed table for supporting an inverted cover, of means for shifting the cover to position under the movable table, means for withdrawing the movable table from between the cover and container and rotatable means for overturning the container and its cover to a position away from the table and with the cover uppermost.

3. The combination with a conveyor, of a movable table for supporting an inverted container upon a portion of the table, means for placing an inverted cover upon the conveyor and below the table, and means for withdrawing the table from beneath the container thereon to deposit the container upon the cover.

4. The combination with an overturning conveyor having a supporting ledge, of a movable table for supporting an inverted container above the ledge, means for directing an inverted cover onto the ledge and under the table, and means for withdrawing the table from between the cover and container to deposit the container upon the cover and ledge. i

5. The combination with separate guideways, an invertible rotary conveyor extending into one of the guide-ways, a fixed table in the other guide-way, of a movable table normally positioned above a portion oft-he conveyor, means for directing an inverted container onto the movable table, means for directing the inverted cover from the fixed table onto the conveyor below the movable table, and means for withdrawing the movable table from beneath a container thereon to deposit the container upon the inverted cover and conveyor.

6. The combination with a rotary invertible conveyor having oppositely extending supporting ledges at itsrespective ends, and means for intermittently rotating the com veyor, of means operating during pauses in the movement of the conveyor for moving an inverted container cover into position on one of the ledges of the conveyor, shifting an inverted container to position above the supported cover, and depositing the inverted container upon the cover and conveyor.

7. The combination with an invertible rotary conveyor, means for intermittently rotating the same, a fixed table at one side of the path of the conveyor, and a movable table normally positioned. in the path of the conveyoiy of means operating during each pause in the movement of the conveyor directing an inverted container cover from the fixed table, placing an inverted container on the movable table, and withdrawing the movable table from beneath the inverted container to deposit the container upon the cover.

8. The combination with an invertible conveyor having opposed oppositely extending ledges, of a movable table normally positioned in the path of the conveyor to hold it against rotation in one direction, means for holding the conveyor against rotation in the opposite direction, a fixed table, means for inverting a container cover and depositing it on the fixed table, means for directing the inverted cover from the fixed table onto one of the ledges of the conveyor, means vfor moving an inverted container onto the movable table, and means for withdrawing the movable table from under the container to deposit the container upon the cover and lodge.

9. The combination with an invertible conveyor having opposed oppositely extending ledges, of a movable table normally positioned in the path of the conveyor to hold it against rotation in one direction, means for holding the conveyor against rotation in the opposite direction, a fixed table, means for inverting a container cover and depositing it on the fixed table, means for directing the inverted cover from the fixed table onto one of the ledges of the conveyor, means for moving an inverted container onto the movable table, and means for withdrawing the movable table from under the container to deposit the container upon the cover and ledge, and release the conveyor for rotation in one direction, and means for rotating the conveyor subsequent to its release to bring the receptacle to upstanding position with the closure thereon.

10. The combination with a structure having separate guide-ways for the reception of receptacle closures and inverted receptacles respectively, of a fixed table in one of the guide-ways, means for overturning a receptacleclosure in one of the guide-ways and depositing it in inverted position upon the fixed table, an overturning rotatable conveyo-r in the other guide-way, a movable table normally in the path of the conveyor, means for directing the overturned cover onto the conveyor and below the movable table, and means for directing an inverted container onto the movable table, and means for withdrawing the movable table from between the container and the closure to deposit the container upon the closure and the conveyor.

11. The combination with means for supporting an inverted container, of afixed table, a tiltable plate for receiving container covers, means for tilting the plate to deposit a cover thereon upon the table in an inverted position, means for moving an in verted cover from the fixed table to position under the container, and means for releasing the supported container to deposit it upon the cover.

12. The combination With a movable table for supporting an inverted container, a fixed table, and a t-iltable plate for supporting a container closure, of means for tilting the plate to deliver a closure therefrom and deposit itin inverted position upon the fixed table, yielding means for directing the inverted closure from the fixed table to position under the movable table, and means for withdrawing the movable table from nor- 'mal position to release a supported container and deposit it upon the inverted closure.

10. The combination with a rotatable overturning conveyor having oppositely extending opposed ledges of means for directing an inverted container onto one of the ledges, means for imparting rotation to the conveyor to bring the container to upstanding position, and means upon the conveyor for engaging a portion ofthe bottom of a container to hold it assembled with the conveyor until brought to its point of delivery.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my sig nature.

WVILLIAM N. MERXVIN. 

